Klaus Sponsel

NOLM-based RZ-DPSK signal regeneration

We present a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM)-based 2R-regenerator setup, which is capable of regenerating signals modulated in phase-sensitive modulation formats. In a conventional NOLM, fluctuations of the signal amplitude are converted into phase fluctuations. Therefore, it is not suitable for regeneration of signals, modulated in formats such as differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) or duobinary. In this letter, we present a modified NOLM setup for 2R-regeneration taking return-to-zero DPSK as an example.

2R-Regeneration of an RZ-DPSK Signal Using a Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror

The performance of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror as a 2R-regenerator for return-to-zero differential-phase-shift-keyed signals has been investigated experimentally. The measured power characteristics and phase functions show that the signal amplitude is regenerated while the signal phase is preserved in the setup. A significant eye-opening improvement and a negative power penalty of about 1.5 dB were obtained

Phase-preserving amplitude regeneration for a WDM RZ-DPSK signal using a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror.

We propose a modified nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM) for phase-preserving 2R regeneration of wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) return-to-zero differential phase-shift-keyed signals. As proof of principle the regeneration capability of this NALM setup has been investigated experimentally for two 10 Gbit/s wavelength channels. A significant eye-opening improvement and a negative power penalty of 1.2 dB have been observed in both channels.

Optimization of a Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror for Amplitude Regeneration in Phase-Shift-Keyed Transmission

We present the numerical optimization of the transmission characteristics of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror for amplitude regeneration of phase-encoded optical transmission formats. Adjusting the splitting factor, the amplifier gain and the phase bias, minimal phase distortions can be achieved while strong amplitude fluctuations are regenerated. The limiting effects of noise from the built-in amplifier and of amplified Rayleigh backscattering are also discussed.

2R-Regeneration of an 80-Gb/s RZ-DQPSK Signal by a Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror

The performance of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror as a 2R-regenerator for an 80-Gb/s return-to-zero differential-quadrature-phase-shift-keyed signal has been investigated experimentally. A significant eye-opening improvement and a negative power penalty of up to 2.6 dB were obtained.

3.9-dB OSNR gain by an NOLM-based 2-R regenerator

We experimentally demonstrate bit-error-rate (BER) improvement of more than nine decades by an asymmetric nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). This can be related to an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) gain of up to 3.9 dB with respect to the NOLM input OSNR at a bit rate of 40 GB/s. The principle of operation of NOLM-based 2-R regeneration with respect to BER improvement is investigated and it is experimentally shown that BER improvement cannot be detected directly at the regenerators output.

Experimental investigation of a modified NOLM for phase-encoded signal regeneration

We experimentally investigate the amplitude and phase transfer characteristics of a modified nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) with a directional attenuator (DA-NOLM) optimized for differential phase-shift keying signal regeneration. The results show that the phase relation is preserved in the setup and thus the DA-NOLM is suitable for amplitude regeneration of phase-shift-keyed signals

Multilevel Phase-Preserving Amplitude Regeneration Using a Single Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror

A possibility of multilevel phase-preserving amplitude regeneration using a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM) is presented for the optical star-8 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) transmission format as an example. Two significantly different state power ratios for the QAM signal, 1:3 and 1:7, were investigated. After the optimization of the coupler splitting ratio and the directional phase bias in the NALM, amplitude noise can be efficiently suppressed at both signal power levels simultaneously. Bit-error-ratio (BER) simulations have shown that in a system limited by nonlinear phase noise, the deployment of the NALM allows an increase of the fiber launch power by 1.9 and 2.2 dB at a BER of 10-3 for a state power ratio of 1:3 and 1:7, respectively. The regeneration limits due to imperfections of the power transfer characteristic are also discussed.

Nonlinear Phase Noise Reduction in a DPSK Transmission System Using Cascaded Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirrors

The performance of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror as a phase-preserving amplitude 2R regenerator in a differential phase-shift-keying transmission system with nonlinear phase noise as dominant limiting effect has been investigated in a recirculating fiber-loop setup. The experimental results show that cascaded regenerators can efficiently prevent the accumulation of nonlinear phase noise in such systems. It was possible to significantly increase the transmission quality; alternatively, a considerable increase of fiber launch power could be achieved for the same bit-error ratio. As a limiting effect, the amplified Rayleigh backscattering in the highly nonlinear fiber is identified when the regenerator is passed multiple times.

Phase-Preserving Amplitude Regeneration in DPSK Transmission Systems Using a Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror

A phase-preserving 2R regenerator based on a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror was implemented in a RZ-DPSK transmission system. Its performance has been investigated in numerical simulations and experimentally. The results show that amplitude regeneration using a NALM can efficiently prevent accumulation of nonlinear phase noise in a 10 Gb/s DPSK transmission system. In the experiments, significant improvements of eye opening and of BER as well as a 3 dB increase in fiber launch power have been demonstrated. Simulations at 10 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s indicated that the enhancement of the transmission quality is smaller at 100 Gb/s. The reason is that at 100 Gb/s nonlinear intra-channel effects rather than pure nonlinear phase noise are the main limiting factor and the NALM can only reduce the accumulation of amplitude noise in that case.